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–Not graded
History · Harrison Township

Half of Harrison Township’s homes were built after 1984

Most of Harrison Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain

What stands out about Harrison Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Harrison Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Harrison Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrison Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harrison Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ratcliffsburgh
1850–1855
Ray
1856–today
Bee
1888–1903
Ratcliffburg
1889–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeeRatcliffburg
Gone or out of use
Bee SchoolschoolBoblet SchoolschoolClark SchoolschoolClaylick SchoolschoolPine Ridge SchoolschoolRay SchoolschoolSmallwood Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Harrison Township
BakerBoblettDozerFairviewScott

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Harrison Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Harrison Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Harrison Township is one of the twelve townships of Vinton County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,084 people in the township.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,068 in 2010, 1,084 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Harrison Township, 1850 to 1903

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Ratcliffsburgh post office opens
  3. 1855Post officeThe Ratcliffsburgh post office closes
  4. 1856Post officeThe Ray post office opens
  5. 1888Post officeThe Bee post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Bee post office closes
By decade

Harrison Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Pine Ridge Wesleyan Church2016Pine Ridge Wesleyan ChurchHarrison Township hall, Vinton County2016Harrison Township hall, Vinton CountyMap of Vinton County Ohio Highlighting2015Map of Vinton County Ohio HighlightingMapOHMap-doton-Ray2007OHMap-doton-Ray
Famous people

Famous people close to Harrison Township

Nobody well known was born in Harrison Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Fred Olen RayAmerican filmmaker · b. 1954
Isham JonesAmerican bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and s… · b. 1894
Jim RhodesAmerican politician · b. 1909
Horatio C. ClaypoolAmerican politician · b. 1859
Pete AbelePolitician · b. 1916
D
David Sutherland HibbardAmerican academic · b. 1868
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Eagle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRichland Township1 historic placeBLiberty Township1 historic placeB−Jackson Township1 historic placeC

Questions about Harrison Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.